Are green pennies ever going to be worth anything?

[martygene]

I have lots of old green pennies and I wonder if the green ruins their value? They don't look like copper anymore so does that destroy their numismatic value?
Is there any way to clean the dried dirt on them or will that also ruin their value ( if they have any value that is due to the green)
Thanks

 

[Elton]

Not sure what your asking..Key date greenies could be valuable.... Most pennies are worth a penny... Just spin em in tumbler and roll and Bank them..

I think of pennies as Battery Money.... as do many others.... Keeping in mind 100 make a dollar LOL

 

[martygene]

well i guess i do mean green pennies of better date and or mint mark... say the Red Book says a particular penny is worth 20.00 in good condition. would the green one be worth that or would it not be because it is green and not copper looking? is the green corrosion of some sort and does the green destroy it's numismatic value? all the other common ones i do tumble and put through the coin counter at the store to get my dollars.

 

[Elton]

Sure if it were a rare coin..Green or not .a collector would be somewhat interested if they needed that date coin... If really rare date still could be cleaned by a professional and have good value..

Take your rare dates to a coin dealer.They will tell you right off if it's a good or not so good coin.. Don't clean any valuable coin !! You will make it worthless in a hurry.

Get the weekly publication Coin paper for true values available at news stands .........This is a better reference for actual values.. Most buried and recovered coins are not as valuable as coins floating around in circulation and in decent condition if you find a key date...

 

[controlfreq]

Speaking of pennies, what can you do with the little roundish "what's left of a penny" found in the salty sand and water at the beach. These newer clad pennies do not like sea water. Has anyone tried taking them to a bank?

John

 

[WIHawker]

Also keep in mind that copper pennies (1982 and older) are worth 2.5 cents in metal value. Look them up on ebay. there are listing for a 100 bucks face going for 175 bucks.
The corroded zinc pennies i keep. I have no idea what im going to do with them yet lol.

 

[DirtyDeedsDugDirtDeep]

Some banks won't take the new zinc pennies at all if they are too corroded.
How do you like that ???
They've figured out another way to make our money " worth less"

Coin dealers always told me any copper coin that has been dug (green) is going to be worth less than a non dug coin in similar condition and rarity.
Stands to reason, because the green is actually the original surface now oxidized.
You try to clean it off, and there goes the detail.
Now why doesn't modern science come up with a whizz-bang way to convert that green back to copper ????